The

Australian cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in international cricket. Along with England, it is the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing and winning the first ever Test match in 1877; the team also plays One ...

toured England in the 1972 season to play a five-match

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

series against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

for

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...

. The series was drawn 2–2 and England retained the Ashes. This was the last drawn series until

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. The two sides also played a three-match ODI series, which England won 2–1.

Australian squad

The following squad was selected by

Neil Harvey Robert Neil Harvey (born 8 October 1928) is an Australian former cricketer who was a member of the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement. A ...

Sam Loxton Samuel John Everett Loxton (29 March 19213 December 2011) was an Australian cricketer, footballer and politician. Among these three pursuits, his greatest achievements were attained on the cricket field; he played in 12 Tests for Australia fr ...

and

Phil Ridings Philip Lovett Ridings (2 October 1917 – 13 September 1998) was an Australian cricketer. He attended Unley High School from 1930 to 1934. Nicknamed "Pancho", Ridings played first-class cricket for South Australia from 1937 to 1957, scoring ni ...

: *Batsmen –

Ian Chappell Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. Known as "Chappelli", he is considered as one of the greatest captains the game has seen.

(captain),

Greg Chappell Gregory Stephen Chappell (born 7 August 1948) is a former cricketer who represented Australia at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). The second of three brothers to play Test cricket, Chappell was the pre-eminent ...

Ross Edwards Ross Edwards may refer to: * Ross Edwards (cricketer) (born 1942), Australian cricketer *Ross Edwards (composer) Ross Edwards (born 23 December 1943) is an Australian composer of a wide variety of music including orchestral and chamber music ...

Bruce Francis Bruce Colin Francis (born 18 February 1948) is a former Australian cricketer who played three Test matches on the Australian tour of England in 1972. Francis was a hard-hitting opening batsman, who played for New South Wales from 1968–69 to ...

Doug Walters Kevin Douglas Walters (born 21 December 1945) is a former Australian cricketer. He was known as an attacking batsman, a useful part-time bowler, and also as a typical ocker. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up ...

Paul Sheahan Andrew Paul Sheahan (born 30 September 1946) is a former Australian international cricketer who played 31 Test matches and three One Day Internationals as an opening and middle order batsman between 1967 and 1973. He made his first-class debu ...

Keith Stackpole Keith Raymond Stackpole MBE (10 July 1940 – 22 April 2025) was an Australian cricketer who played in 43 Test matches and six One Day Internationals between 1966 and 1974. He went on to become a cricket commentator on radio and television i ...

*Wicket-keepers –

Rod Marsh Rodney William Marsh (4 November 1947 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian professional cricketer who played as a wicketkeeper for the Australian national team. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 ...

Brian Taber Hedley Brian Taber (29 April 1940 – 21 July 2023) was an Australian cricketer who played in 16 Test matches as a wicket-keeper from 1966 to 1970. He represented New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States ...

*Fast bowlers –

Dennis Lillee Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is a retired Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".

, Bob Massie, David Colley, Jeff Hammond *All-rounders –

John Inverarity Robert John Inverarity (born 31 January 1944) is a former Australian cricketer who played six Test matches. A right-handed batsman and left-arm orthodox spin bowler in his playing career, Inverarity was also one of the enduring captains in t ...

, Graeme Watson *Spinners – John Gleeson,

Ashley Mallett Ashley Alexander Mallett (13 July 1945 – 29 October 2021) was an Australian cricketer who played in 38 Tests and 9 One Day Internationals between 1968 and 1980. Until Nathan Lyon, he was Australia's most successful off spin bowler since Worl ...

Notable omissions from the squad included

Bill Lawry William Morris Lawry (born 11 February 1937) is an Australian former cricketer and commentator who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Test matches, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia ...

Graham McKenzie Graham Douglas McKenzie (born 24 June 1941) – commonly known as "Garth", after the comic strip hero – is an Australian cricketer who played for Western Australia (1960–74), Leicestershire (1969–75), Transvaal (1979–80) and Australi ...

and

Ian Redpath Ian Ritchie Redpath MBE (11 May 1941 – 1 December 2024) was an Australian international cricketer who played in 66 Test matches and five One Day Internationals between 1964 and 1976. Greg Chappell said he was one of only two players he kn ...

Test series

1st Test

2nd Test

3rd Test

4th Test

5th Test

The series was drawn 2–2, which meant that England retained the Ashes.

ODI series

1st ODI

2nd ODI

3rd ODI

References

Annual reviews

Playfair Cricket Annual ''Playfair Cricket Annual'' is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. It has been published every year since 1948. Its main purposes are to revie ...

1973 *

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

1973

External links

The Ashes, 1972
at

ESPN Cricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

CricketArchive – tour itineraries
1972 in Australian cricket 1972 in English cricket

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

International cricket competitions from 1970–71 to 1975

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